


Undercover Mission - An L Oneshot

by rizanicole



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Love, One Shot, One of My Favorites, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 13:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14916206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rizanicole/pseuds/rizanicole
Summary: L, detective extraordinaire, had just suggested that he and I go undercover to try to gain information about a suspect.To a nightclub.Hardlythe type of place where he wouldn't look suspicious.





	Undercover Mission - An L Oneshot

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first oneshot I've written in years and the longest one that I've ever written, so I hope you enjoy it. Please review or send me a message if you have a chance!

“We're going undercover?”

I was a bit surprised, to put it mildly. He'd never suggested this type of mission before.

"Yes, that's right," the detective replied without looking at me. He was sitting in a swivel chair, knees pulled up to his chest, as he stirred a spoon in a cup of coffee with his index finger.

"It wasn't my first choice," L elaborated, "but I'm afraid we have no other options."

L, detective extraordinaire, had just suggested that he and I go undercover to try to gain information about a suspect. 

To a nightclub.

_Hardly_ the type of place where he wouldn't look suspicious.

"Why wouldn't we send Light and Misa to do this?" I asked him, folding my arms over my chest as I looked down at him from my standing position.

L tapped his spoon against the top rim of his coffee cup, apparently satisfied with his stirring job, and set it aside. 

"As you know, I suspect Light and Misa of being the first and second Kira." He looked around the large room briefly, and once satisfied we were definitely alone, continued. 

"I don't think Light has any memory of being Kira at this time, but Misa's behavior has recently been… how should I put it… slightly more 'intelligent' than I'd grown accustomed to?" He turned the chair around to look at me for the first time. "I think she may have regained her memories."

My eyes widened. "Oh," was all I could say at first. I considered myself a solidly able detective, but my deductive abilities didn't even approach L's. Finally, I continued. "Her actions have seemed a bit more purposeful lately. Particularly her infiltration of Yotsuba."

"Exactly," L agreed, munching on a sugar cube. "Which is why they can't be trusted with this mission. I want to limit the time she and Light spend together outside of the base where they can't be monitored, and I don't want to risk them coming into contact with the current Kira that we're after.

"Which is why," he continued, returning to his original point and looking at me seriously. "You and I are the only ones I feel comfortable having on this mission."

It was hard for me not to say yes to L's requests, especially with the way he was looking at me, but I wasn't ready to give in just yet. This mission sounded like a recipe for disaster.

"But, why me?" I asked. "We both know I'm one of the more 'junior' members on the detective team; wouldn't you rather have the chief or Mogi go with you?"

"Oh," he began, "I'm afraid I may have failed to clarify a certain point. Bringing anyone else would be impertinent because you're going to be undercover as one of the club's dancers, to make sure we have an excuse to be behind the scenes and have a view of the entire dance floor; I'll be posing as your boyfriend."

My eyes must have been nearly bulging at this point. "You can't be serious! Ryuzaki, I can't dance to save my life!"

"Mmm, yes, that could be problematic," he conceded. "But, I think you could learn. The infiltration's not scheduled for another three days, so you should have plenty of time. You'll only have to do one dance on stage so that you can survey the crowd and look for our suspect; after that, you'll come down, pretend to see me for the first time, and we'll sneak off to a dressing room in the back to discuss what needs to be done. If you saw the suspect, we'll go back to the dance floor to figure out where he is and try to determine if he's meeting with anyone else. If he's not there, well, we may have to move through the back rooms of the club and see if we can find him there, instead.”

I was still staring at him disbelievingly. "Three days?"

He nodded, and turned his chair back around to face the wall of computer screens. "Just trust me, Liz. It'll be fine."

~~~

Three days later, and I'd watched more club dancing tutorials online than I ever thought I'd see in my life. After practicing for hours in front of my mirror, it had finally become slightly less awkward to see my body move in such strange ways. It'd be a crazy exaggeration to say I was "good," in my own mind, but I should be able to pull off at least one repetitive ten-minute routine.

"Hey, Liz," L said, poking his head into my hotel room. "Are you almost ready?"

"Yeah, I think so," I said. I was sat in front of my hotel room mirror, putting final touches on my hair and makeup to try and make myself look like a "professional." The outfit I was wearing—purchased yesterday from a store I'd certainly never been in before—was far from modest, but no one ever would've believed I was a legitimate club dancer without something like it. Black leather shorts, a lace-up red cropped shirt that exposed most of my midriff, and patent leather heels made up the ensemble. My hair had been curled for the first time in years, and I’d learned how to properly apply eyeshadow for the first time ever. I guess I technically looked better than usual, but still, I felt a bit shy that L was going to see me this way.

Clearly oblivious to my internal monologue, he walked over towards me and closely inspected my appearance. "Yes, I think this'll do quite nicely," he said as he moved his face inches from mine to examine my makeup. I wasn't normally the blushing type, but did have to break eye contact after a moment. I know he didn't know the effect he had on me, but this mission was already going to be tough enough without him staring into my eyes and making my distracting personal feelings even more noticeable.

No, this was the time to focus on the mission. "Thank you," I said. I scooted my chair away from him to get a better view of the mirror, doing one final check. "I think I'm ready to go."

L glanced at his watch. "Well, it’s only 20:30. I’ve been told that many people don’t even arrive at these places until 22:00 or later. In that case, there's one more thing we should do." He turned to look at the door. "Matsuda!"

"Y-yes, Ryuzaki?" said Matsuda, appeared in the doorway. I almost would have guessed he’d been standing out there eavesdropping on our conversation, with how quickly he responded, but it hardly mattered.

"You've been to Club Aura before, correct?"

Matsuda paused for a moment this time. “Uh… why do you—”

"Are you familiar with the type of dancing that goes on in this establishment?" L persisted.

"Erm… well, yes, but—“

"Excellent! Then you can observe Liz's routine and let us know if you think she'll stand out from the others."

"What?!” we said in unison. 

"I'm really not sure I'm comfortable with that—“

"This is way too embarrassing, Ryuzaki—“

But he heard neither of us. 

“Nonsense! We need some way to gauge whether this mission has any chance of success, and Matsuda is the only one among us with first-hand experience at this venue.” L craned his neck to look back at me over his shoulder, done interrogating Matsuda for the moment. “That is, assuming you’ve never been there before, Liz.”

I shook my head back and forth. He hardly had to ask; we’d known each other long enough to know it’s not somewhere either of us would be interested in going “for fun.”

“I rest my case.” L continued. He looked back at Matsuda. “Here, sit.” He ushered the younger detective onto a couch in my large hotel room, taking a seat beside him. I followed awkwardly behind them and stood in front of the couch, arms crossed over my stomach in an attempt to hide my midriff.

“Well, Liz, can you show us what you’ve been working on?” L looked up at me expectantly, one finger pressed against the side of his lips in thought.

I started to protest again, but then took a deep breath and nodded. There was no point in fighting him on this, not when he seemed so determined for it to happen. I was just sorry that poor Matsuda had to be dragged into it.

I returned to the vanity where I’d been doing my makeup and grabbed my cell phone, pulling up a generic dance-y club song that I’d first heard in one of those tutorial videos. After a second of buffering, it started playing. I walked back over to the two detectives, set it on the dresser behind me, tried not to think, and started the routine. 

It really was fairly basic; lots of motions with my arms extended to my sides or locked above my head, transitioning between the two positions often. A good bit of motion with my hips. My knees were involved to drop my body closer to the floor and then come back up slowly, in what I hoped was a sultry fashion. Very little action with my feet, now that I think about it… but, I suppose the idea was that I was supposed to look “sexy” in some way, more so than actually being an impressive dancer.

The song came to an end after about three minutes, and I slowed to a stop. I quickly picked my phone back up to do something with my hands, my embarrassment returning now that I was no longer focusing on the actual moves.

“So, what’d you think?” I plucked up the courage to look Matsuda in the eyes to see his reaction.

He was looking right back at me, appearing to be a bit stunned. He also appeared to be blushing slightly, and crossed his legs, readjusting his seating position. He simply nodded at first.

L turned to look at him, too. “Well? Do you think she could pass as one of the dancers?” From what I could tell, L hadn’t been phased by the performance at all. I knew that he was basically an android, but still felt a tiny bit insulted by his lack of reaction, before quickly brushing it off.

Matsuda nodded again, seeming to regain a bit of his composure. “Yeah. Yeah, I think you could definitely do it, Liz.” He smiled at me now. “You did a great job! I never knew you could move like that, but I totally think you could pass as one of Aura’s dancers.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at him as I gave a slight bow. “Thanks, Matsu. And it’s new to me, too, I just started learning three days ago!” I laughed lightly.

“Well, I think you’re prepared!” He turned to look at L. “Anything else I can help with?”

L looked pensive for a moment, before shaking his head. “No, I think we have all the information we need. Thank you, Matsuda, you’ve been a great help.”

Matsuda nodded and stood, congratulated me on my new dance skills once more, winked, and then left the room. I felt my face get a bit warm. We’d known each other for a while now, and I didn’t think he meant anything by it. But still, it was quite a compliment!

I shook my head a bit to clear these thoughts and returned my focus to L. “So,” I began, “are we ready to go?”

He got up off the couch and walked over to stand next to me, inspecting my appearance once more. He removed a stray hair from one of my shoulders and let it drop to the hotel room carpet, but otherwise seemed satisfied. “I think so. I’ll call Watari to bring the car around, and we’ll be off.”

A few minutes later, we climbed into the backseat of L’s limousine and were headed to Club Aura. According to Watari, who told me I “looked lovely” (which was not exactly the word I would have used, but I’ll take it), the club was about a twenty-minute drive from the task force headquarters.

I fidgeted nervously during our ride as L and I discussed the plan we’d been finalizing over the past few days. There were two entrances to this club, apparently; a front entrance for regular patrons to wait in line, and a back entrance for staff dancers and those visiting from other clubs to use. L would go in the front entrance, and then I would be dropped off at the back. Watari had somehow fabricated a fake ID claiming that I was a dancer from one of the other clubs across town. Apparently, it was unlikely for the Aura staff to question such things. I took the card passed to me from the front seat, thanked him, and put it into my back pocket.

All too soon, Watari pulled up to the front entrance of the club, and L got out of the limo. He nodded at me just before closing the door, and went to stand in line. I felt nervous all over again. It looked like he’d be waiting there for at least half an hour, and I realized I may have to dance longer than I’d expected.

Watari circled around the block to the back entrance of the club, dropping me off with a friendly “Good luck!” I’d been a bit skeptical of the idea of the same limo dropping us both off, but it turned out this part of the city was teeming with them on a Friday night. Unless someone was trying very hard to catch us, no one would notice that we both exited from the same one of many identical sleek, black limos.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the bouncer minding the door, doing my best to project confidence. I smiled, a bit flirtatiously, and handed him my ID. He simply nodded at me, expressionless, and spoke into his earpiece. “We have a visiting dancer from Karma out front; sending her back now.”

I thanked him, and walked up a small flight of stairs to what I assumed was a raised stage. The steps vibrated under my feet, and I could hear booming music coming from the club’s dance floor. At the top of the stairs, I landed in what was apparently a backstage area. Girls milled about between hair and makeup stations, clouds of hairspray and perfume were being sprayed everywhere, and everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing. I also noticed a few open doors along one wall, which appeared to lead to dressing rooms. Before I had too much time to take in the scene, a woman who looked to be about 30 years old grabbed my shoulder.

“You’re the dancer from Karma, yeah?” I nodded, and she smiled. “Great! Their dancers generally get rave reviews from the people at our club. Ready to get out there at the next song?”

I nodded again, and smiled back at her. She seemed extremely friendly, but I was starting to feel terrified inside. “Yeah, I’m ready!” 

She gave me instructions on how the routine would go. Basically, dancers performed for as long as they felt comfortable, until they were getting too tired, needed a drink of water, or wanted to freshen up for a while. There were three girls on stage at a time, and it was generally best to wait until one of the other dancers came back before trying to take anyone’s place.

“I think the girl in the far-right position is starting to get tired,” the woman said. “Can you take her place whenever she comes back?” I agreed.

“Great! Thanks for your help tonight, I’m sure the crowd will love you!” With that, she disappeared into a cloud of hair care products, and was gone.

I anxiously stood backstage for only a few minutes more, before I heard the current song end and a tall brunette girl stepped back from in front of the curtain, looking exhausted. Before I gave myself time to think about what I was doing, I stepped out from behind the curtain and took her place on stage. Thankfully, there was a small white “x” taped to the floor, marking where I was supposed to stand.

The first think I noticed when I looked up was that the lights were blinding. It took a few minutes of what was sure to be super-sexy squinting before my eyes started to adjust and I could actually see the crowd. The second thing I noticed was that it was hot up here; no wonder dancers could only perform for so long before needing a break. 

Our stage was raised up about 5 feet from the dance floor. My other dance partners, who I was glad to see were dressed similarly to myself, seemed to be paying me no mind. I heard a few whistles from the crowd when I stepped out, which I again took as a compliment, and started my routine when the next song’s beat began.

I repeated the same moves that I’d shown to L and Matsuda just an hour earlier, doing my best to imitate a real dancer. I glanced to my left to see what my two stage partners were doing, and noticed that each was going through their own set of slow, sensual moves. I tried to copy their pace, knowing that I had a tendency to speed up when I got nervous.

By a few minutes in, I felt like I’d gotten into a groove, and wasn’t at risk of completely sticking out like a sore thumb. I returned my attention to the crowd, surveying the group below us. There were probably around 150 people in total, and most of them were on the dance floor right in front of the stage. There were also a few groups split off at small tables around the fringe of the dance floor, ordering drinks and chatting with each other. 

I understood now why L had insisted on me going undercover for this mission. People were packed so tightly in the crowd that it looked like moving around on the floor would be almost impossible, and searching for a moving suspect would not have been easy. But from here, I could see every face in the crowd.

My eyes began searching for a medium-height man with short, blond hair around 25 years old, recalling the suspect description L had given me. I was trying to scan the crowd section-by-section, and about halfway through, still hadn’t seen anyone who matched the profile. Blonds were generally rare in Japan, and I was glad to have a suspect with such a unique appearance. It was unlikely he would be in any sort of disguise, L told me, since he had no reason to think the task force suspected him yet. 

I continued searching the crowd, and suddenly spotted him. Near the back-left corner of the club, a blond man wearing a green t-shirt was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He was moving to the music a bit, but didn’t seem to be as enthusiastic as the people around him. He kept looking back and forth like he was trying to find someone in the crowd…

Bingo. This was definitely our guy.

‘Alright, now I’ve found him…’ I thought to myself. ‘Where are you, L?’

I made a mental note of the suspect’s location, and turned my attention to finding my superior. Right on time, he stepped through the club doors, apparently having just gotten through the line. His hands were in his pockets, as per usual, as he looked around the club. His white shirt and jeans weren’t particularly out of place, since the rest of the club-goers seemed to be dressed in everything from t-shirts to button-downs, but his demeanor made him stand out. He clearly wasn’t someone who was looking to party.

L moved to stand against the back wall of the club as I continued dancing, and we made eye contact briefly. I wanted to get to him as soon as possible, before anyone noticed the strange, quiet man standing in the back of the room. The music playing seemed to be an endless track of one song fading into the next, and when the current slow number ended and transitioned to a faster one, I went back behind the stage curtain.

Only in the cooler air of backstage did I realize quite how hot I’d been under the lights. I was panting slightly, and gratefully accepted the bottle of water and towel one of the other dancers handed me. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and chest and took a long drink of the water, before placing both items on a vanity table. Someone had taken my place on stage in no time, and I took that as my cue to go find L.

There were alcoves on either side of the stage curtain, each of them with a few steps leading down to a door that ostensibly connected to the main area of the club. I tried one, and found myself next to the dance floor. I headed towards the back of the club in L’s direction.

Unfortunately, my beeline was stopped by a hand around my wrist. I tensed up immediately, ready to fight if necessary, but realized it was only a club patron seated at one of the tables. 

“Hey, you were really impressive up there,” he said, smiling in a way that made me feel a bit uncomfortable and running his eyes over my body. “Want to join us for a drink?” He gestured to the other two men at the table, who I assumed were his friends. I didn’t particularly like the looks on their faces, either.

I quickly twisted my wrist out of his hand, in an efficient way that seemed to surprise him. “I’m glad you enjoyed the performance,” I said with a smile, trying to be friendly. “But I’m actually on my way to meet my boyfriend just now, so I should probably get going.” I turned and continued heading towards L without a backwards glance.

I reached my target without further interruptions, greeting him with a hug, as we’d discussed. It was the closest I’d ever been to him, and I silently wished that we were in any other situation so I could actually appreciate the feel of being pulled against his chest, but it ended all too quickly. He kept his arm around my shoulder, though, as we both stood against the back wall of the club. I learned over to speak in his ear - it was too loud for actual whispering in this place.

“Found our guy. Two o’ clock, near the back of the crowd.” L followed my gaze and nodded slightly in confirmation. We could just see the top of the suspect’s blond head from here. “Should we head to the back?” I asked, running my hand down his chest slowly in an attempt to keep up my role as the girl excited to see her boyfriend. I hoped that if anyone was watching us, they’d think we were disappearing to the back to do something other than discuss crime suspects, and would opt not to follow us.

Plus, getting to mess with him like this, when I had a perfect excuse for doing so, was an opportunity too good to pass up.

L flinched slightly at my touch, which hadn’t been part of the script we’d specifically discussed, but then nodded. “Yes, I think we should.”

I took his hand and walked to the backstage door on the opposite side of the club, being sure to avoid the man who’d stopped me the first time. We landed in the main backstage area before quickly sneaking into one of the open dressing rooms, and I shut and locked the door behind us. Thankfully, I don’t think anyone had spotted L, or if they did, they chose not to say anything about it.

“You’re doing an excellent job for your first undercover mission, Liz.” L said as he sat down, pulling his knees up to his chest. I noticed the room was set up quite like a department store dressing room, with several hooks on one wall, a full-length mirror on another, and just one small chair. It was a bit cramped, so I stood with my back against the door. 

“Thanks,” I said, crossing my arms over my body as I was forced to look at myself in a mirror once more. “So, what’s our next move?”

“Did you notice if the suspect was with anyone?”

“He was definitely looking for someone. But, I don’t think they’d met up yet.”

L nodded pensively. “I see… well, since the goal of this mission is primarily observation, I think we should hide in the crowd and try to stay close to him. We’ll need to follow him quickly if he meets the other person and they leave, which is why I’d rather you be on the floor than dancing on stage again. It’s also very important that we make sure they don’t know we’re watching or following them. Understood?”

I nodded, processing the implication of what he’d said. The two of us would be together, on the dance floor, in a club, trying to blend in, which I could only assume meant we’d be dancing like the other people around us... I’d just have to do my best to keep L from standing out, and try to keep my own distracting feelings in check. Simple.

“Do you… know how to dance, L?” I asked it as kindly as possible, almost sure that this was something he’d never done before.

“I had a chance to observe the others while I was waiting for you to come down from the stage. It should be fine.”

I nodded again, not wanting to argue with him, and we snuck back out of the dressing room and into the main club. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the crowd. When we were only a few feet away from our suspect, I stopped and brought L close to me. I let him go to start dancing with my arms and hips, hoping he’d follow my lead one way or the other.

He looked unsure for a few seconds, then started nodding his head in time with the music and shifting his weight from foot to foot so that he was rocking back and forth. Not perfect, but it would pass for at least a few minutes while our suspect tried to find his partner. 

I watched the man as intently as I could without being obvious. He still seemed to be looking for someone, but no one was showing up.

L and I continued dancing for probably 15 minutes before anything changed. Then, the guy we were watching was suddenly walking out of the crowd. We were close enough to the edge of the throng of people to keep an eye on him from the dance floor.

I watched him sit down at one of the fringe tables with a young woman, who appeared to have just arrived. They shook hands, and just chatted for a couple of minutes before ordering drinks. After observing them for a few more minutes, I leaned in close to L so only he could hear me. 

“Hey… are you okay with watching from here, or should we get closer?”

“I don’t think we can move any closer without being suspicious,” L responded. “Best to just stay here.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes trained on our target for anything unusual. It didn’t take long before I saw it.

The blond man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag, which appeared to be filled with a fine, white powder. He placed it on the table in front of the woman. She nodded, and then reached for her purse, pulling out a stack of yen notes. She placed the money on the table. 

The man picked it up, seemed to count up the amount, and nodded. He pocketed the money, and the woman put the bag of powder — which by now I was fairly certain was cocaine or some other drug — into her bag.

The woman sat for a few more minutes finishing her drink, nodded at the man, and then got up and left the club. 

I look back at L, who already had his focus back on me. He leaned in close, his messy black hair brushing against my cheek. “We should watch him for a few more minutes.”

I nodded, and we both looked back towards the table. The suspect wasn’t doing anything unusual now, and didn’t speak with anyone else. Within ten minutes, he had finished his drink, as well, and exited the club. 

L and I locked eyes again. When he nodded, I grabbed his hand and pulled him back out of the crowd. We headed back to the same tiny dressing room as before, and I closed and locked the door.

“So then, he’s a drug dealer,” I said with a sigh. “Definitely a criminal, but probably not a Kira accomplice. I’d think he would be someone who was afraid of Kira, if anything.”

L nodded, then tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Yes, I’m afraid you’re right. There’s no way he could have known he would be watched tonight. Even if he noticed us this evening, he wouldn’t have had a chance to put together a ruse like this since getting to the club. And it’s not like he showed himself being an upstanding citizen, either; if he knew we were watching, what he did could still have gotten him arrested. I would guess he’s just a dealer who chose an odd place to carry out his work. Perhaps he’s hoping to pick up more clientele from the party scene.” L shrugged his shoulders. “This one turns out to be a miss. The real Kira and his accomplices are still out there.”

I nodded, a bit disappointed that we hadn’t made any progress tonight. L must have noticed my expression. “Don’t be discouraged, though,” he said, standing up and placing a hand on my shoulder. “A large part of our job is to cross suspects off the list. We may not have found Kira, but we did eliminate a suspect, and can move forward to find the real killer from here.”

I smiled at him weakly. “Yeah, you’re right.” He seemed satisfied enough with the response, and let his hand drop from my shoulder. 

We stood in silence for a moment, before L spoke again. “Shall we head back, then? I can call Watari to pick us up.”

“Yeah, that’d probably be best.”

A few minutes later, we left the club by the front entrance where L had first come in, and climbed back into the limousine. Watari drove us home, asking questions about our mission along the way. I chimed in a few times, but let L answer most of them. I knew eliminating suspects was important, but I couldn’t help wishing we’d found some information more important to the Kira case. 

We all arrived back at the hotel close to midnight. L and I entered the building and rode up the elevator in silence, our hotel rooms being on the same floor. A bit to my surprise, he walked with me to my door. 

As I punched in the code to open it, he spoke for the first time in a while. “Hey, Liz… so I feel a bit… bad, about taking you on this mission and making you prepare for several days, only to have things not really work out as we’d hoped. Do you think I could come in for a few minutes to talk?”

I nodded, having no idea what he would want to talk about. I was feeling rather tired — the kind of end-of-the-night tired where I know all the excitement’s over, my heels have become decidedly uncomfortable, and I just want to go to sleep — but I was never one to turn down a chance to spend time with L.

We entered the room, and I took off my heels by the door, rubbing my sore ankles and letting the door swing shut behind us. I went to sit down on a couch, and L sat down next to me.

“So, what would you like to talk about?” I asked.

He was silent for a moment, looking down at his hands, before he turned his gaze to me and spoke. “I guess what I want to say is that I’m sorry for asking you to learn those dance moves. I know it was short notice, and not something you were very comfortable with when I first asked you.”

Apologizing was unusual for him, and it was starting to freak me out. “It’s okay, L, it’s not a big deal. It’s part of my job, after all! Plus, it was kind of fun to try something new.” I smiled at him.

He nodded, not breaking eye contact. “Would you perhaps want to dance with me now?”

I blinked at him. “Huh?” This was not at all where I thought the conversation was going.

“Not like the club dancing,” he clarified. “I mean proper dancing. I took lessons once, years ago. Can you waltz?” I shook my head. “No trouble, then. I’ll teach you. Hopefully this will be more comfortable for you.”

He stood up and offered me a hand. I sat still and just looked at him for a few seconds, surprised at where this had gone. It was a bit strange to apologize for making me learn to dance by having me learn more dancing, but I understood his intention, and it was actually very sweet. 

Finally, my brain caught up and put my body into action. I reached out and took his hand with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, pulling me into a standing position and bringing our torsos close together. 

L placed a hand just above my waist, and intertwined the fingers of his other hand with mine, holding them out to the side. I could feel butterflies starting in my stomach. “Now, place your free hand on my upper arm.” I did as instructed, and he nodded in approval. “I’ll step forward with my left foot first, and you step back with your right…”

L continued showing me the basic steps of the waltz for the next several minutes. He was quite a good teacher, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how many hidden talents the detective had. He was a champion tennis player, apparently an accomplished dancer… when had he had time to learn all these skills?

“Excellent work.” he said, bringing us to a stop after I’d successfully completed the step pattern for the first time. “Are you ready to try with music?”

I smiled and nodded. L let go of me for a moment to fish his cell phone out of his pocket. He tapped a few buttons, and a classical song started playing. He then placed the phone on my dresser, the same way I had done earlier in the night when showing off my club moves, and came back over to me.

He extended his hand, the faintest smile on his lips. “Shall we?”

I couldn’t help grinning as I took his hand. He pulled me closer to him, and we resumed our dance. I was still fumbling occasionally, not always sure when or how much I was supposed to turn. But with L as my guide, I slowly improved as he whisked us around the room.

We remained in silence like this for several songs—apparently L had a playlist of them on his phone, which somehow didn’t surprise me—until I broke the silence.

“Thank you for teaching me how to dance, L.” I said. I was smiling at him, but also couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious at how close we’d been for so long. It felt much different from being in the club, surrounded by 100 other people, and only dancing together because our disguises demanded it. Here, being alone with him when we weren’t putting on a show for anyone else… well, it was an experience I never thought I’d get to have with him.

“You’re quite welcome, Liz,” he began. “I rather enjoy this type of dancing, but never really get to do it any more. And, to be completely honest…” he trailed off, though he clearly had more to say. He looked down at our feet, and then back up at me. I tilted my head to the side in question.

L sighed. “And, I must confess that I really enjoyed being close to you tonight. Even if it was just an act for a mission, I wasn’t quite ready for it to end.”

I felt my face become warm, and stumbled over a waltz step. Was he implying what I think he was?

“I really enjoyed it, too, L,” I said softly, once my footwork had recovered. He’d given me the perfect opening to say what was on my mind, and I decided it was now or never. “I always like spending time with you like this, particularly when it’s just the two of us.”

He looked a bit surprised at my words, but never missed a step in the dance. I continued, almost whispering now. “You can get closer, if you want.”

L slowed us to a stop, then, looking at me with an uncertain expression. He slid the hand that had been resting on my side around to my back, and pulled my body flush against his. “Like this?” he asked.

I swallowed, and nodded my approval.

He then released my hand, wrapping his other arm around my back, as well. I moved my free hand to his shoulder. “And this?”

I nodded again. I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me on purpose or just being careful, but it came across as incredibly smooth.

“And this?” he said again quietly. I was about to ask what he meant that time, when I noticed he was leaning in closer to me. I instinctively moved forward to meet him halfway, and our lips brushed for just a few seconds in a gentle kiss.

L was the first one to draw back, looking unsure of what he’d just done. I smiled at him and nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck now. “Definitely. That’s more than okay.”

Feeling a bit more confident, I slowly brought L’s face back down towards mine, and kissed him again. The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy by this point. I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to bring the focused detective out of his shell in this way, much less me.

I soon pushed this thought out of my head to focus on L. His lips were unbelievably soft as our mouths moved against each other. He was kissing me back a bit hesitantly, almost as if he was afraid to make a mistake. After about a minute, I pulled away to check on him. 

“Okay?” I asked, slightly out of breath. I always imagined he’d scare easily, and didn’t want to drive him away.

Thankfully, he just gave me another small smile. “More than okay.”

I smiled back at him, then rested my head on his chest. I started swaying my body in time with the music, holding L close to me. He seemed to accept this arrangement, as he followed my lead, though he gently lifted my head back up to look into my eyes. He was looking at me fondly, and it occurred to me that I could stay like this in his arms forever. We continued to steal kisses every few minutes, and L seemed to grow more confident along the way. 

I’m not sure how much time had passed before he finally had to stifle a yawn. I laughed lightly. “Sleepy?” I asked.

He nodded, tightening his arms around me just a bit. “But, I still don’t really want to let you go.”

I didn’t skip a beat this time. “No problem. Stay here with me tonight.”

L raised one eyebrow slightly, looking skeptical. “Are you sure? What would the others think if they found out? I don’t want to put you in any danger.”

I shook my head, and answered his questions in turn. “I’m sure, if it’s something you want to do, too. They’d probably be surprised and amused, so we can keep it a secret, if you’d rather. And I’m already in danger just from being a part of the task force, so I hardly see what difference it would make.”

L nodded, processing what I’d said. “In that case, I’ll be right back.” He let go of me and headed towards the door. He left the room, and came back a few minutes later in a pair of blue pajama pants and a white, short-sleeved t-shirt. It was almost exactly like the outfit he wore during the day, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I spent a few minutes in the bathroom removing my makeup, and changed out of my clubbing garb into my own pajamas. When I came back, I climbed into bed, and motioned for him to join me.

He walked to the edge of the bed, and then stopped, still looking hesitant. “You’re sure you don’t mind me staying?”

I shook my head. “I don’t mind. I’d like you to stay, if you want to.”

That seemed to convince him, as he slid under the covers next to me. I smiled happily, and reached up to turn off the lamp beside the bed before laying back down.

I snuggled up against L’s side and kissed his cheek, hardly believing the turn the night had taken. I sighed happily. “Goodnight, L.”

“Goodnight, Liz,” he wrapped his arms protectively around me. “We may not have caught Kira tonight, but I know that between the two of us, we can crack this case.” I smiled in the darkness. It wasn’t often that he spoke so optimistically, but it was certainly nice to hear. 

He continued. “And maybe when we need a break, I can teach you more dances. I probably know around ten more, if you’d be interested.”

My smile grew even wider. Solving crime and dancing with L sounded absolutely wonderful. I placed my hands on either side of his face and kissed him deeply, which seemed to surprise him, but in a good way. I pulled away with another happy sigh.

“Yeah. I think I’d like that more than anything else in the world.”

_FIN_

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed that oneshot! Thanks for sticking by it all the way to the end. As long as you're here, would you mind leaving a review? I'm always looking for feedback to improve my writing. Thanks! :)


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